Paddy Power narrows the odds on “NO” for Lisbon Treaty

Bookmaker Paddy Power has cut the odds on a “No” vote in a second Irish referendum on the European Union’s Lisbon treaty after a flow of punters gambled on another defeat.

Irish voters, representing less than 1 percent of the 27-nation bloc’s population, will once again decide the fate of the charter on October 2 after their shock rejection last year delayed its reforms, which are designed to streamline the EU’s decision-making and give it a stronger voice in world affairs.

The most recent opinion poll, published in early June, showed 54 percent of respondents backed the treaty but last year surveys also showed a majority in favor until a few weeks before the referendum.

“We have seen a shift toward the ‘No’ side in the last couple of weeks and it appears our punters think things could be just as tight second time around,” Sharon McHugh, a spokeswoman for Paddy Power, said…

The question of national pride and independence is one the press and politicos always seem to skip right past. They don’t comprehend that individual issues that result in diminishing the democratic voice of a nation are felt as oppression, national oppression.

If there’s a nation in Europe that ain’t about to put up with an increase of anything that smacks of national oppression it’s the people of Ireland.